A plane crashes in the middle of the ocean, and a sixteen year old girl is the only survivor. She could tell everyone what happened – if she remembered it. Not only does she not know how she ended up floating in the ocean, she can’t remember her family, her friends, or her own name. And she seems to have abilities that no one else does – like being able to understand and speak all languages without even knowing it.

Called Violet by the hospital staff due to the unusual color of her eyes, the girl also discovers that many of the everyday objects others can identify with ease – a television, a car – are foreign to her. And then a boy arrives, who claims he knows her – her name, her past, and the way to restore her memories. He tells her they were in love, and he tells her she is in danger.

Unremembered was a really odd read for me. It has so many elements that I generally love in a book (*SPOILERS* time travel, secrets, futuristic technology *END SPOILERS*), but it never felt as thrilling as it should have. 

I think most of that is due to the pretty pedestrian writing, which tells the story but doesn’t go much beyond that. For example, I knew that Violet was confused and didn’t recognize her surroundings, but I didn’t feel it. I contrast this with Tucker in The Obsidian Blade, who was presented with confusing event after confusing event and I felt that confusion right along with him.

While I didn’t necessarily guess the big twist in Unremembered, it didn’t exactly take me by surprise either. Which is a shame, because it featured a plot element I normally love (see above). I just couldn’t get behind it here. Other elements in the book felt a bit thin, too: characterization wasn’t as great as I wanted it to be, and the world-building in particular felt lacking. 

Unremembered feels very much like a book-of-the-moment. It reads like all the other light (very, very light) sci fi YA books out there now (like Erasing Time or Eve and Adam), doesn’t offer anything new, and doesn’t distinguish itself in any other aspect such as writing or world-building, where it could have redeemed itself. It’s not bad, but it’s not great, either. This is not to say it won’t find its fans among those who have read others of its ilk and simply want more of the same, but ultimately, Unremembered will go unremembered.

(Please accept my sincerest apologies for the pun. My fingers forced me to type it.)

Review copy provided by the publisher. Unremembered will be published March 5.